


never will forget those nights

by fouronforeplay



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-20 00:22:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7383478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fouronforeplay/pseuds/fouronforeplay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>For larnbean, who prompted "Nick Bjugstad/Vincent Trocheck: make outs, cuddling"</p><p>Hope you like it!</p></blockquote>





	never will forget those nights

**Author's Note:**

  * For [larnbean](https://archiveofourown.org/users/larnbean/gifts).



Vinny takes a cold beer out of the cooler and looks around for a bottle opener. When Eks had first demanded that the team get together for one last beach barbecue after locker cleanout day, Vinny had been suspicious. But people seem to actually be showing up– even Willie stopped by on his way to the airport with Meg.

The April sun is warm, but not yet scorching, and it’s perfect beach weather in South Florida. Of the ten or so guys already here, nobody’s quite in a partying mood just yet. That might change as the sun sets, or as more people show up– Bjugs is on his way with a keg, and Lu’s bringing a “surprise,” apparently.

Vinny unfolds a chair next to Aaron, who’s trying in vain to get a fire started. “Need some help with that?”

“No, man, I got it,” Aaron says, trying to brush him off. He’s sheltering a tiny pile of newspaper as it smolders itself out. The last ember dies, and Aaron throws his head back. “Okay, fine, have at it.”

“Overconfident lumberjack,” Vinny scoffs as he and Aaron swap places. Vinny strikes a match and pretends not to notice Aaron sneaking a sip from his beer. 

Soon enough, the fire pit is successfully ablaze, and Vinny turns to take his beer back from Aaron’s hands. He’s about to tell Aaron to stick to gathering seashells, but Aaron’s gone– he took Vinny’s beer and went to talk to Jags, who’s just showed up.

Vinny guards his fire for another moment, making sure some of the bigger logs start to catch. “Hey,” he hears from behind him. “Where should I put this?”

Bjugs has the keg hoisted over his shoulder, the tap and some cups in his free hand. 

“Not too close to the fire,” Vinny says, “but other than that I think anywhere’s fine. You can ask Aaron if he cares.”

Bjugs looks around, then plops the keg into the sand right where he’s standing. He pushes it down and wiggles it until he’s satisfied it’s stable. Nick looks at Vinny with one of his most blinding smiles, and says, “I’m sure he won’t mind if I just leave it here.”

Nick sets to work tapping the keg, and Vinny goes back to tending the fire– totally concentrating on that and not sneaking glances at Nick at all. Nick looks like a total douche right now anyway in his hot pink bro tank and backwards hat-sunglasses combo. If he just wore the hat forwards he wouldn’t even _need_ the sunglasses.

“You want the first pour?”

“Sure,” Vinny says without looking, and he’s bestowed with a heaping cup of foam. He sloshes it to see if there’s any actual drinkable liquid. “I walked right into that one,” he says as he abandons the foamy cup on the table and grabs a new one. “Seriously though, beer me. Eks took mine.”

Nick hands him a real beer, and Vinny shivers slightly as Nick’s fingers, cold from handling the keg, brush his own. He tries not to think about it too much. “I’m gonna go let Aaron know the fire’s going, see if he wants to get some burgers on or something,” Vinny says.

As it turns out, there are no burgers. Apparently, Aaron’s idea of a barbecue is actually just a weenie roast. He only bought hot dogs and sausages, though some of them are fancy gourmet kinds Megan Mitchell told him to get. Everyone laughs when he tells them, but it’s good food and there’s plenty of it, and in the end there are no complaints from any of the guys beyond the usual ribbing. Aaron’s really just a big kid, under all that so-called maturity, and it’s pretty obvious tonight.

Vinny catches himself staring at Nick across the fire as he puts a marshmallow on his roasting stick and rotates it over the flames. The sun is setting, and it feels later than it probably is. Vinny’s pleasantly tipsy now, and he has to take great care not to burn himself when assembling his s’more. He hauls himself up out of the sand and wanders down toward the water to walk while he eats. 

The sounds of the ocean are peaceful, and Vinny basks in the relative quiet after being around all the chaos of the party. All told about thirty people showed up, guys and their wives and such. Lu showed him the joints he brought for later in the night, after it’s properly dark and the party dissipates a little.

Vinny hears footsteps behind him. It’s Nick, who jogs down to where Vinny’s strolling before matching his stride. “Hey, man. Thought you might want some company,” Nick says with a smile. It almost seems redundant to notice when Nick’s smiling, Vinny thinks, because he does it so often, but he likes noticing because Nick is nice and his smile is nice.

“Sure, totally,” Vinny says. He tries to play it cool, but he’s really excited that Nick came down to walk with him. Vinny does a really good job of keeping a lid on his feelings during the season– he likes being a steady guy in the room and constantly reminds himself that there’s no place for dumb emotional drama when they’re there to play hockey.

But hockey’s over for the year now, and his walls are coming down. He goes for it– grabbing Nick’s hand. If Nick’s weirded out by it, Vinny can just chalk it up to too much beer or sunstroke or something. 

Nick doesn’t seem weirded out by it. He lets Vinny thread their fingers together, and they keep walking. Vinny can hear his own heartbeat in his ears. After a moment, he says, “We should head back,” and stops them.

“Okay,” Nick says. He’s smiling when he turns so they’re facing each other, but it’s not one of his usual toothy grins. It’s a softer smile, and he’s looking right into Vinny’s eyes. 

Nick leans down, and their lips meet. Nick is soft, and the kiss is gentle, tentative. Vinny feels Nick’s hand come up to grab his face as he deepens it, licking into Nick’s mouth. The waves crash behind them and Vinny feels the water rush up over his feet as he pulls away. He smiles up at Nick. “Come on, let’s go back to the fire. It’s warmer.”

They cap the night off breathing smoke into each other’s mouths, snuggled together by the fire as they pass a couple of Lu’s joints around with the boys. They blur the line between shotgunning and kissing until they completely lose track of it. None of the boys even chirp them about it, too wrapped up in snuggling with each other or the people they brought to the party. 

Vinny wakes at dawn, as the last ember of the fire dies. He’s not sure when he fell asleep, but Nick is still wrapped around him, so it’s not that important.

**Author's Note:**

> For larnbean, who prompted "Nick Bjugstad/Vincent Trocheck: make outs, cuddling"
> 
> Hope you like it!


End file.
